Chicago Cubs: A Spring Training preview for the NL Central

Spring Training is here, as Chicago Cubs camp opens on Wednesday. With that, we look at each of the five National League Central teams.

Chicago Cubs spring training camp is set to open on Wednesday. After months of analysis about what the Cubs did or didn’t do this offseason, including lots of speculation regarding a possible Kris Bryant trade, we’re finally going to see some on-the-field action.

As we know, the Cubs didn’t do much this offseason, hampered largely by luxury tax concerns. Because of that, they won’t be getting much love when many websites start to make their preseason predictions for the 2020 season. There’s reason to be skeptical about the Cubs this year under new manager David Ross: The outfield and second base situations are up in the air, the starting rotation isn’t inspiring anyone, and the bullpen is full of question marks.

What should give Cubs fans optimism about the 2020 season is that the National League Central division doesn’t have a dominant team, at least looking at the rosters on paper. The division’s defending champions, the St. Louis Cardinals, didn’t do much this offseason, either, while the division’s other playoff team from a year ago, the Milwaukee Brewers, made some changes but don’t appear to be as strong as they were at the end of last season.

The division’s most active team this offseason was the Cincinnati Reds, though they’ve been under .500 for several years in a row and still have a lot to prove. Then there’s the Pittsburgh Pirates, the only team that figures to have no realistic chance to win the NL Central this year.

As teams get set to take the field in Florida and Arizona, let’s take a look at the state of each of the five NL Central teams, going in order by last year’s win total.

Chicago Cubs: St. Louis Cardinals

In 2019, the St. Louis Cardinals hovered around the .500 mark for much of the year before getting hot towards the end of the season and taking the National League Central with a 91-71 mark. One highlight of that run was a four-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in September, a series in which the road team took all four games by one run. The Cardinals then beat the Atlanta Braves in the Division Series before losing to the Nationals in the NLCS.

For a team that is considered a contender but that also had plenty of room for improvement, the Cardinals didn’t do much this offseason. They are losing outfielder Marcell Ozuna to the Braves via free agency, while they also traded away Jose Martinez and got prized pitching prospect Matthew Liberatore from the Tampa Bay Rays.

Other than that, they are going mostly with the status quo in 2020. They’re set at most positions, as the outfield looks like it will be Tyler O’Neill, Harrison Bader, and Dexter Fowler. The Cardinals will have to try to get Tommy Edman some at-bats again this season after the 24-year-old put up an .850 OPS and a 3.8 WAR in just 92 games last year. He could get some time in the outfield, or he could take playing time away from the up-and-down veteran Matt Carpenter at third.

The rotation is headlined by two youngsters, Jack Flaherty and Dakota Hudson, who were both impressive in 2019. Miles Mikolas and Adam Wainwright also return to the rotation, while it appears that the team will give Carlos Martinez a chance to move from the closer’s role back into a starter’s spot.

The Cardinals are not an elite team, but they have a solid major leaguer at almost every position. With no elite NL Central team, it looks like they will be favored to repeat.

Chicago Cubs: Milwaukee Brewers

Like the Cardinals, the Milwaukee Brewers were mediocre for the majority of 2019. Yet after their star outfielder Christian Yelich went down with an injury in September, the team rallied to claim an NL Wild Card spot, making the playoffs for the second straight year. Unlike the Cardinals, the Brewers have made lots of changes. Yet it remains to be seen whether the team will actually be better in 2020.

On offense, the has team lost Yasmani Grandal, Eric Thames, Jesus Aguilar, Mike Moustakas, and Travis Shaw via free agency. To replace them, they brought in Omar Narvaez to catch, Eric Sogard and Jedd Gyorko for third, and Justin Smoak for first, along with Avisail Garcia for left field, which should allow Ryan Braun to also get time at first. The replacements, on paper, may not be as strong, but give the team credit for trying to hold things together. They also brought in 22-year-old Luis Urias for shortstop, and he figures to battle the disappointing Orlando Arcia for playing time there.

The starting rotation is where the team really took a big hit this offseason. They traded away Zach Davies and Chase Anderson, who were their two leaders in games started in 2019. Gio Gonzalez, who made 17 starts for them, is also gone. Brett Anderson comes over as a free agent to help fill the void, but Brandon Woodruff and Adrian Houser come in as the leaders of the rotation. After an offseason filled with trade rumors, Josh Hader will be returning to anchor the bullpen.

Again, given the relatively mediocre NL Central, the Brewers still have to be in the discussion to win the division or at least a Wild Card spot. Yet the rotation is iffy and the offense doesn’t figure to be as strong as it was last year. A lot will have to go right.

Chicago Cubs: Cincinnati Reds

After six straight losing seasons, the Cincinnati Reds appear ready to pounce. The Reds are trying to take advantage of a wide-open NL Central this offseason by being the most active team in the division. They’ve made several big additions; will it lead to the team’s first playoff berth since 2013?

Despite making a lot of additions on offense, the Reds’ pitching was the team’s strength in 2019. The team is bringing back four solid starting pitchers in Sonny Gray, Luis Castillo, Trevor Bauer, and Anthony DeSclafani, while they also brought in Wade Miley to fill out the rotation. Gray is coming off a tremendous season, while Castillo was also solid in 2019; Bauer is a bit of a question mark after he struggled after coming over via trade during the 2019 season. The bullpen was also good in 2020, and the team has added longtime Cubs setup man Pedro Strop to help.

More from Cubbies Crib

• Cubs should keep close eye on non-tender candidate Cody Bellinger
• Cubs starting pitching has been thriving on the North Side
• Make no mistake: the Cubs are very much about power hitters
• Cubs are giving pitcher Javier Assad a deserved shot
• Cubs: It’s time to start thinking about potential September call-ups

The offense overall was a bit disappointing in 2019, but the team has overhauled their lineup around stars Joey Votto (who had a down year in 2019) and Eugenio Suarez. Mike Moustakas comes over from the division rival Brewers, though it will be interesting to see how he handles the full-time move to second base with Suarez firmly in at third. Nicholas Castellanos, who starred for the Cubs late last year, figures to add a lot to the offense, while the team also brought in Shogo Akiyama for outfield depth. They’ll also have a full season of Freddy Galvis at short.

Whenever a team tries to make a big jump forward during the offseason like the Reds have, there’s always a question of how much exactly will go right and whether the moves were enough to make that jump into contention. The Reds will be relying on a lot of veterans in 2020; this is not a typical rebuild where the team built up their farm system. Clearly, they believe the time is right in a mediocre NL Central.

Chicago Cubs: Pittsburgh Pirates

For the other four teams that we’ve mentioned, though they all have flaws, there is at least some hope that each team can compete for the NL Central title. For first year manager Derek Shelton and the Pittsburgh Pirates, however, there’s not much reason to be optimistic.

Looking at the offense, there are some good players that are coming back from 2019. At age 26, Josh Bell had a breakthrough year at first base and has become a legitimate middle-of-the-order hitter. Though the rest of the lineup lacks firepower, there are some good hitters. Bryan Reynolds and Kevin Newman both impressed last year, batting over .300. Adam Frazier also showed the ability to be a productive player at second base, while Colin Moran quietly drove in 80 at the hot corner. The team will badly miss Starling Marte, who was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Gregory Polanco has battled injuries and has yet to put it all together; could it finally happen in 2020?

So, the Pirates could potentially score some runs, but the starting rotation doesn’t look too promising. Right now, Joe Musgrove looks to be far and away their ace; last year, he gave the Pirates 31 starts and posted a 4.44 ERA. Trevor Williams, Steven Brault, and Chris Archer all return, though they all posted an ERA over 5.00 in 2019. With Felipe Vazquez‘s legal troubles, the team will need a new closer; right now, it looks like Keone Kela will be the guy.

The Pirates have shied away from the term “rebuild” this offseason, though given that they are likely facing a last-place finish in the division, it will be interesting to see whether they try to trade any of their young players to build up the minor league system. Bell would be far and away their biggest chip if that happens, though there’s been little indication that the team plans on shopping him this year.